Sheet metal enclosure formed by a cover and flat sheet metal walls



Aug. 11, 1970 DEVQS 3,523,394

SHEET METAL ENCLOSURE FORMED BY A- COVER AND FLAT SHEET METAL WALLS Filed Feb. 28, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

INVENTOR' Francis, Marie, Robert DEVO Aug. 11, 1970 ag v05 3,523,394

SHEET METAL ENCLOSURE FORMED BY A COVER AND FLAT SHEET METAL WALLS Filed Feb. 28. 1968 2 Sheets-Shet 2 FIG} ;2 6 1 2 FIG.5 7

INVENTOR Francis, Marie, Robert DEVOS A TTORNE Y United States Patent ()flice 3,523,394 Patented Aug. 11, 1970 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sheet metal enclosure formed with sheet metal flat walls connected at the ends thereof to one another at right angles to define a quadrilateral body. The ends of the flat walls are folded inwardly of the body, each end making with the corresponding wall an angle comprised between 15 and 50 with the angles of adjacent wall ends being complementary angles. In assembly, the folded ends define inwardly protruding corners and are joined together to form the enclosure.

The present invention relates to a sheet metal enclosure.

This enclosure is formed by a cover and sheet metal walls the lateral ends of which are folded in view of the assembly by means of the said ends. Such enclosures are known and namely also enclosures that comprise protruding corners formed along certain edges of the walls by the folded ends of adjacent walls. The advantage of the latter enclosures reside in the fact that they make it possible to obtain certain framing effect if the shade of the various walls are appropriately selected. On the other hand, they have the disadvantage of requiring wide edges to allow assembly of the walls.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of enclosures having protruding corners that are very thin thus having very little bulkiness and offering new decorative possibilities.

The enclosure according to the invention is characterized in that the protruding corners are obtained by folding the ends of a wall inwardly to form with the latter angles comprised between 15 and 50 and by securing to each end thus folded in, the end of an adjacent wall folded in acomplementary angle.

It is thus possible to obtain, with the invention, a convenient cover for an uncovered apparatus by means of an enclosure as defined above, characterized in that at least one of the panels having folded ends is secured to the uncovered apparatus. This may be obtained for instance by screwing one of the panels having folded ends, arranged between two protruding edges, on the uncovered apparatus, or, preferably, by having at least one of the folded end panels slid over a guiding sheet metal plate or frame secured to the uncovered apparatus. In order to obtain perfectly smooth surfaces, the panels located between two protruding corners may be covered by adhesive decorative panels.

The invention will be explained hereinafter in relation to preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic plan views of enclosures made according to the invention;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are schematic plan views of enclosures made according to the invention and shown mounted around an uncovered apparatus.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, four walls 1, 2, 3, 4 are made of sheet metal having interconnected folded ends. The ends of the walls 1 and 3 define with the latter angles of 30 (FIG. 1) or of 45 (FIG. 2.) whereas the ends of the adjacent walls 2 and 4 define with the top portion of the said walls complementary angles of 60 (FIG. 1) or of 45 (FIG. 2). The folded ends of walls 1 and 3 constitute protruding ends in relation to walls 2 and 4 but the said protruding ends may be made extremely thin while retaining a framing effect which can be emphasized by an appropriate selection of shades for the various walls. The assembly of the walls may be done either by means of clips, hooks or by screws applied to the folded ends.

In FIG. 3, four walls 5, 6, 7 and 8 are made of sheet metal with interlocked folded ends. The ends of the wall 5 form with the latter angles of 30 whereas the ends of the wall 7 form with the fiat portion thereof angles of 60. The ends of wall 6 and 8 form with the latter a 60 angle on one side and a 30 angle on the other side. The folded ends forming with the wall 30 angles are everywhere protruding edges. By selecting appropriate shades for walls 5, 6,7, 8, various decorative effects may be obtained without increasing the cost of the enclosure.

In FIG. 4, an uncovered apparatus 1 is provided on one side with a sheet metal 2 and on the other side with a frame 3 over which two lateral walls 4 and 5 of the enclosure are slid. In view of the fact that the ends of walls 4 and 5 are folded to make an acute angle, the sheet metal tube makes it possible to completely define the position of the wall 4 and the frame 3 makes it possible to completely define the position of the wall 5. The two walls being made solid with the uncovered apparatus, it is then sufiicient to secure the two remaining walls 6 and 7 by any convenient means. The advantage obtained with this mounting method is appreciable, namely when an apparatus such as a heating apparatus must be installed in a building under construction and would tend to get dirty in view of the rough conditions of the construction site. It is then important that the decorative enclosure may be put on at the last moment when all the other work is finished. At that time, it is possible to assemble the complete enclosure before sliding it, in assembled condition, over the sheet metal member 2 and frame 3.

The same arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 5 but with the sheet metal members 2 defining the position of the walls 6 and 7.

In FIG. 6, two panels 8 and 9 that must be provided at either end with protruding edges are screwed on the uncovered apparatus of which they form a part. It is then sufiicient to build up the decorative enclosure, to apply to the ends of panels 8 and 9 the two lateral panels 10 and 11 defining protruding ends and to apply over the face of the forward panel 9 a decorative and adhesive sheet metal member 12. The adhesion of this sheet metal member over panel 9 may be obtained either by an appropriate glue, by magnetization of panel 9 or the sheet metal mem-' ber 12. Covering of the rear panel 8 is not essential; the latter being less subjected to the disadvantages of the construction site.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal enclosure enclosing an uncovered apparatus, said enclosure comprising:

(a) a fiat sheet metal cover section defining a rectangular body,

and the angle of the adjacent end being comple- 5 mentary,

(d) the folded ends of each pair of said walls forming projections which protrude outwardly with respect to the planes of the pair of adjacent walls to which they are connected, and

(e) guide frame means on the uncovered apparatus and received in said complementary recess angles in at least one end of said cover section for accurately positioning the apparatus Within said enclosure,

2. The enclosure as defined in claim 1 wherein said guide frame means includes members which position the apparatus within said enclosure by means of a sliding engagement between said frame means and the recesses formed by said angles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 865,372 9/1907 Flynn 52--218 2,220,373 11/1940 Krauser et al. 52-204 2,932,546 4/1960 Marggraf et a1. 21754 FOREIGN PATENTS 857,892 1/ 1961 Great Britain.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner 5 s. D. BURKE III, Assistant Examiner 

